Gibraltar police boats have confronted a Spanish trawler but did not stop it fishing off the Rock, in an incident similar to a stand-off last week.

About four police vessels and a Royal Navy patrol boat intercepted the trawler from La Linea, which spent several hours raking up marine life, a police spokesman told the BBC.

The trawler ignored warnings to stop, but police did not board it as it was protected by two Guardia Civil vessels.

Spain disputes Gibraltar's sovereignty.

Royal Gibraltar Police spokesman Richard Ullger said the trawler left the Rock's territorial waters at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday and sailed back to nearby La Linea. It had spent about six hours fishing off Gibraltar's Elbow Battery.

The police will issue the Spanish crew with a court summons - the normal procedure when trawlers are escorted by the Guardia Civil (Spanish gendarmerie), he said.

In such cases "we avoid active enforcement because it could provoke an incident", the spokesman explained.